Pope Innocent XI (Latin:Innocentius XI;Italian:Innocenzo XI; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), bornBenedetto Odescalchi, was head of theCatholic Church and ruler of thePapal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689.
Political and religious tensions withLouis XIV of France were a constant preoccupation for Innocent XI. Within the Papal States, he lowered taxes, produced a surplus in the papal budget and repudiated nepotism within the Church. Innocent XI was frugal in his governance of the Papal States, his methods evident in matters ranging from his manner of dress to a wide range of standards of personal behavior consistent with his conception of Christian values. Once he was elected to the papacy, he applied himself to moral and administrative reform of theRoman Curia. He abolishedsinecures and pushed for greater simplicity in preaching as well as greater reverence in worship, requesting this of both the clergy and faithful.[4][5][6] In consideration of his diplomatic and financial support for efforts to freeHungary fromTurkish domination, he is still widely referred to in the country as the "Saviour of Hungary".[7]
After a difficult cause forcanonization, starting in 1791, which caused considerable controversy over the years and which was stopped on several occasions, he was beatified in 1956 byPope Pius XII.
Benedetto Odescalchi was born inComo on 16 May 1611, the son of a nobleman of Como, Livio Odescalchi, who died in 1626, and his wife Paola Castelli-Giovanelli fromGandino, who died of the plague in 1630. The child's siblings were Carlo Odescalchi (1609 - 1673), married to Beatrice Cusani of the Marquesses of Chignolo (parents of Giovanna Odescalchi (1651 - 14 July 1679), married inMilan on 27 May 1677 as his first wife toCarlo Borromeo-Arese, 6th Marquess of Angera, 11th Count of Arona, with issue), Lucrezia Odescalchi (9 October 1605 - ?), married on 4 February 1621 to Alessandro Erba (6 November 1599 - 31 August 1670), son of Gerolamo Erba and wife Vittoria Olgiati, ancestors of theErba-Odescalchi,Giulio Maria Odescalchi, Costantino Odescalchi, Nicola Odescalchi and Paolo Odescalchi. He also had several collateral descendants of note through his sister: her grandson CardinalBenedetto Erba Odescalchi and CardinalCarlo Odescalchi -Servant of God.
TheOdescalchi, a family of minor nobility, were determined entrepreneurs. In 1619, Benedetto's brother founded inGenoa with his three uncles a bank which quickly grew into a successful money-lending business. After completing his studies in grammar and letters, the 15-year-old Benedetto moved to Genoa to take part in the family business as an apprentice. Lucrative economic transactions were established with clients in the major Italian and European cities, such asNuremberg,Milan,Kraków, andRome.
In 1626 Benedetto's father died, and he began schooling in the humanities taught by theJesuits at his local college, before transferring to Genoa. In 1630 he narrowly survived anoutbreak of plague, which killed his mother.
Some time between 1632 and 1636, Benedetto decided to move to Rome and thenNaples in order to studycivil law. This led to his securing the offices ofprotonotary apostolic, president of theApostolic Camera, commissary of the Marco di Roma, and governor ofMacerata; on 6 March 1645,Pope Innocent X (1644–55) made himCardinal-Deacon with the deaconry ofSanti Cosma e Damiano. He subsequently becamelegate toFerrara. When he was sent to Ferrara in order to assist the people stricken with a severe famine, the Pope introduced him to the people of Ferrara as the "father of the poor".
Cardinal Odescalchi
In 1650, Odescalchi becamebishop of Novara, in which capacity he spent all the revenues of hissee to relieve the poor and sick in hisdiocese. He participated in the1655 conclave. In 1656, with the pope's permission, he resigned as bishop of Novara in favor of his brother Giulio and moved to Rome. While there he took a prominent part in the consultations of the various congregations of which he was a member.[8] He participated in the1669–70 conclave.
Odescalchi was a strong papal candidate after the death ofPope Clement IX (1667–69) in 1669, but theFrench government rejected him (using the now-abolishedveto). AfterPope Clement X (1670–76) died,Louis XIV of France (1643–1715) again intended to use his royal influence against Odescalchi's election. Instead, believing that the cardinals as well as the Roman people were of one mind in their desire to have Odescalchi as their Pope, Louis reluctantly instructed the French party cardinals to acquiesce in his candidacy.
On 21 September 1676, Odescalchi was chosen to be Clement X's successor and took the name of Innocent XI. He chose this name in honour of Pope Innocent X, who made him a cardinal in 1645. He was formally crowned as pontiff on 4 October 1676 by theprotodeacon, CardinalFrancesco Maidalchini.
Immediately upon his accession, Innocent XI turned all his efforts towards reducing the expenses of theCuria. He passed strict ordinances againstnepotism among the cardinals. He lived very parsimoniously and exhorted the cardinals to do the same. In this manner he not only squared the annual deficit which at his accession had reached the sum of 170,000scudi, but within a few years the papal income was even in excess of the expenditures. He lost no time in declaring and practically manifesting his zeal as a reformer of manners and a corrector of administrative abuses. Beginning with the clergy, he sought to raise thelaity also to a higher moral standard of living. He closed all of the theaters in Rome (considered to be centers of vice and immorality) and famously brought a temporary halt to the flourishing traditions of Romanopera. In 1679 he publicly condemned sixty-five propositions, taken chiefly from the writings ofEscobar,Suarez and othercasuists (mostlyJesuit casuists, who had been heavily attacked byPascal in hisProvincial Letters) aspropositiones laxorum moralistarum and forbade anyone to teach them under penalty of excommunication.[8] He condemned in particular the most radical form ofmental reservation (stricte mentalis) which authorised deception without an outright lie.
Personally not unfriendly toMiguel de Molinos, Innocent XI nevertheless yielded to the enormous pressure brought to bear upon him to confirm in 1687 the judgement of the inquisitors by which sixty-eightquietist propositions of Molinos were condemned as blasphemous and heretical.
Innocent XI showed a degree of sensitivity in his dealings with theJews within the Italian states. He compelled theRepublic of Venice to release the Jewish prisoners taken byFrancesco Morosini in 1685. He also discouraged compulsory baptisms which accordingly became less frequent under his pontificate, but he could not abolish the old practice altogether.
More controversially on 30 October 1682 he issued an edict by which all the money-lending activities carried out by the Roman Jews were to cease. Such a move would incidentally have financially benefitted his own brothers who played a dominant role in European money-lending. However, ultimately convinced that such a measure would cause much misery in destroying livelihoods, the enforcement of the edict was twice delayed.[9]
Innocent XI was an enthusiastic initiator of theHoly League which brought together thestates of theHoly Roman Empire and KingJohn III Sobieski ofPoland-Lithuania who in 1683 hastened to the relief ofVienna which was being besieged by theTurks. After the siege was raised, Innocent XI again spared no efforts to induce the Christian princes to lend a helping hand for the expulsion of the Turks fromOttoman Hungary. He contributed millions of scudi to the Turkish war fund inAustria andHungary and had the satisfaction of hearing of thecapture of Belgrade on 6 September 1688.[10]
During England'sExclusion Crisis (1679–1681), whenParliament sought to exclude the CatholicDuke of York from gaining the throne,the radical Protestants of London'sGreen Ribbon Club regularly held mass processions culminating with burning "The Pope" in effigy. Evidently, the organizers of these events were unaware that the actual Pope in Rome was involved in a deep conflict with the King of France – and therefore, far from supporting the drive to get the Duke of York crowned, which served Louis XIV's political ambitions.
The pontificate of Innocent XI was marked by the struggle between the absolutism and hegemonic intentions of Louis XIV, and the primacy of the Catholic Church. As early as 1673, Louis had by his own power extended the right of therégale over the provinces ofLanguedoc,Guyenne,Provence, andDauphiné, where it had previously not been exercised.
All the efforts of Innocent XI to induce Louis XIV to respect the rights and primacy of the Church proved useless. In 1682, the King convoked anassembly of the French clergy which adopted the four articles that became known as theGallican Liberties. Innocent XI annulled the four articles on 11 April 1682, and refused his approbation to all future episcopal candidates who had taken part in the assembly.[8]
To appease the Pope, Louis XIV began to act as a zealot of Catholicism. In 1685, he revoked theEdict of Nantes and inaugurated a persecution of FrenchHuguenots. Innocent expressed displeasure at these drastic measures and continued to withhold his approbation from the episcopal candidates.
Tachard, withSiamese envoys, translating the letter of KingNarai to Pope Innocent XI, December 1688
Innocent XI irritated the King still more that same year by abolishing the much abusedright of asylum, by which foreign ambassadors in Rome had been able to harbor in embassies any criminal wanted by the papal court of justice. He notified the new French ambassador,Marquis de Lavardin, that he would not be recognised as ambassador in Rome unless he renounced this right, but Louis XIV would not give it up. At the head of an armed force of about 800 men Lavardin entered Rome in November 1687, and took forcible possession of his palace. Innocent XI treated him asexcommunicated and on 24 December 1687 placed underinterdict theChurch of St. Louis at Rome where Lavardin attended services.[10]
In January 1688, Innocent XI received the diplomatic mission which had been dispatched to France and the Holy See byNarai, the King ofSiam, underGuy Tachard andOk-khun Chamnan in order to establish relations.
Joseph Clement was not only the candidate of EmperorLeopold I (1658–1705) but of all European rulers, with the exception of the King of France and his supporter and cousin, KingJames II of England (1685–88). At the election, which took place on 19 July 1688, neither of the candidates received the required number of votes. The decision, therefore, fell to Innocent XI, who designated Joseph Clemens as Archbishop and Elector of Cologne.
Louis XIV retaliated by taking possession of the papal territory ofAvignon, imprisoning thepapal nuncio and appealing to a general council. Nor did he conceal his intention to separate the French Church entirely from Rome. The Pope remained firm. The subsequent fall of James II in England destroyed French preponderance in Europe and soon after Innocent XI's death the struggle between Louis XIV and the papacy was settled in favour of the Church.[8]
Innocent XI dispatchedFerdinando d'Adda as nuncio to theKingdom of England, the first representative of the Papacy to go to England for over a century. Even so, the Pope did not approve the imprudent manner in whichJames II attempted to restore Catholicism in England. He also repeatedly expressed his displeasure at the support which James II gave to the autocratic King Louis XIV in his measures against the Church. It is not surprising, therefore, that Innocent XI had less sympathy for James than forWilliam of Orange[11] and that he did not afford James help in his hour of trial.[10] Innocent refused to appoint James II's choice as a Cardinal,Sir Edward Petre, 3rd Baronet.
Innocent XI issued thepapal bullSanctissimus Dominus in 1679 to condemn 65 propositions that favored a liberal approach to doctrine which included two that related toabortion. He first condemned proposition 34 and countered that it was unlawful to procure abortion. He also condemned proposition 35, which stated: "It seems probable that the fetus (as long as it is in the uterus) lacks a rational soul and begins first to have one when it is born; and consequently it must be said that no abortion is a homicide."[12][13]
Innocent XI was no less intent on preserving the purity of faith and morals among all people. He insisted on thorough education and an exemplary lifestyle for all people and he passed strict rules in relation to the modesty of dress among Roman women. Furthermore, he put an end to the ever-increasing passion for gambling by suppressing the gambling houses at Rome. By a decree of 12 February 1679 he encouraged frequent and even daily reception of Holy Communion.[4] On 4 March 1679, he condemned the proposition that "the precept of keeping Holy Days is not obligatory under pain of mortal sin, aside from scandal, if contempt is absent".[14] In 1688, he reiterated a decree ofPope Sixtus V that banned women from singing on stage in all public theatres or opera houses.[15]
Innocent XI was hostile towards the bookVaria Opuscula Theologica (Various Theological Brochures) that the Spanish JesuitFrancisco Suárez published. He ordered all copies to be burnt in 1679 but his orders went ignored. One of the books was discovered in 2015.[16]
He elevated 43 new cardinals into the cardinalate in twoconsistories. In 1681 he named Antonio Pignatelli as a cardinal, who would later becomePope Innocent XII (taking his name in honor of the pope who elevated him). Innocent XI also intended to nominate his confessorLudovico Marracci as a cardinal, but he declined the invitation.
Innocent XI is known to have suffered fromkidney stones since 1682 and in 1689 his health declined notably. In June that year he was confined to his bed. For reasons of ill health, he cancelled a consistory of cardinals convoked for 19 June for the examination of bishops and he also cancelled meetings on 21 June. The pope was suddenly assailed by a strong fever on 25 June and on 29 June he was unable to celebrate the solemn Mass for theFeast of Saints Peter and Paul, deputing CardinalFlavio Chigi to celebrate it in his place. The Pope's condition worsened on 2 July and his doctors were led to lance his left leg, which caused fluid release, and eventually to undertake an operation on his right leg on 31 July, and two more in the following two days.[17]
On 9 August he received theViaticum since doctors were of the opinion that he had little time left to live. On 11 August he received in audience Cardinal Leandro Colloredo, who came to remind him that the pope had been set to raise ten men to the cardinalate but the pope refused to do so despite the cardinal's insistence. On the morning of 12 August he lost the ability to speak and suffered from breathing difficulties.[17]
Innocent XI died on 12 August 1689 at 22:00 (Rome time) Following his death, he was buried inSt Peter's Basilica beneath his funeral monument near the Clementine Chapel, which his nephew, PrinceLivio Odescalchi, commissioned.[18][19] The monument, which was designed and sculpted byPierre-Étienne Monnot, features the pope seated upon the throne above a sarcophagus with a base-relief showing the liberation of Vienna from the Turks byJohn III Sobieski, flanked by two allegorical figures representing Faith and Fortitude.[20][21]
In April 2011 the remains of Innocent XI were moved to make way for remains of thebeatified John Paul II.[22]
The process of Innocent XI'sbeatification was introduced in 1691 byPope Innocent XII. His cause was formally opened on 23 June 1714 underClement XI,[23] granting him the title ofServant of God, and continued underClement XII, but French influence and the accusation ofJansenism caused it to be suspended in 1744 byPope Benedict XIV. In the 20th century, it was reintroduced; his writings were approved by theologians on 24 March 1945,[23] andPope Pius XII proclaimed himvenerable on 15 November 1955 and blessed on 7 October 1956.[24]
Following his beatification, his sarcophagus was placed under the Altar of St. Sebastian in the basilica's Chapel of St. Sebastian, where it remained until 8 April 2011 when it was moved to make way for the remains ofPope John Paul II to be relocated to the basilica from the grotto beneath St. Peter's in honor of his beatification and in order to make his resting place more accessible to the public.[25] Innocent's body was transferred to the basilica's Altar of Transfiguration, which is located near the Clementine Chapel and the entombed remains of PopeGregory the Great (590–604).[25] The altar is also across from Innocent XI's monument, which was his original site of burial before his beatification.
The feast day assigned to Innocent XI is 12 August, the date of his death. In the Hungarian calendar, it is commemorated on August 13.
Popular revelations made in the novelImprimatur damaged Innocent XI's reputation and thus the planned canonisation of Benedetto Odescalchi was suspended indefinitely.[26]
It was believed that the canonization would have taken place in 2003 but the book's publication halted all plans to canonize Innocent XI.[27]
^Philips, Adrian; Scotchmer, Jo (May 2010)."Budapest: CASTLE HILL".Hungary. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 130.ISBN978-1-84162-285-9. Retrieved6 May 2015.At the square's centre is a statue of Pope Innocent XI, who is known as the 'saviour of Hungary' because of his endeavors in funding the European forces that freed Hungary from Turkish rule.
^Bradshaw's Illustrated Hand-Book to Italy (1865) describes Innocent XI's tomb as being that of his Monument in St Peter's Basilica, which is near that of Pope Leo XI's monument and tomb. Francis Wey'sRome (1875) and S. Russell Forbes'Rambles in Rome: An Archaeological and Historical Guide (1882) also refer to Innocent XI's Monument as being his tomb.
^Cevetello, Joseph F.X., "Blessed Innocent XI,"Homiletic & Pastoral Review. New York, NY: Joseph F. Wagner, Inc., 1957. Pp. 331–339.
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